“Do you think it’s normal for men to like novelty?” Ji Xixing raised a brow, her expression turning distinctly cold. “Then I wish you’ll only ever meet people like that in the future.”
After saying that, she ignored them and took the room card to find the elevator.
Behind her, the front desk woman was still unwilling to let it go, shouting, “A mistress like you has no right to say that! How shameless!”
The receptionist who had spoken to Ji Xixing earlier hurriedly covered her mouth and lowered her voice. “Are you crazy? She’s Mr. Gu’s guest. If he finds out, you’re done for.”
“So what if he knows? Miss Ye is the future Mrs. Gu. I’m not wrong.”
“……”
Ji Xixing followed the room card number through the hotel and eventually found her room.
The suite was styled in an European design, a connected luxury suite.
When she pressed the switch at the entrance, ornate lighting cast a warm golden glow across the room. A large soft carpet lay beneath the living room sofa.
The air carried a faint, cool woody fragrance, and the bathroom was neatly stocked with disposable amenities.
Ji Xixing opened a packet of disposable toothbrushes, took a shower, brushed her teeth, and removed her makeup.
By the time she came out, the clock on the wall had already reached 1 a.m.
She turned on her powered-off phone, and a flood of missed calls popped up.
Ji Xixing glanced over it briefly and saw that nearly all of them were from Ji Lifeng.
Among them were also several calls labeled “Brother Rongjin,” and Ji Xixing made a disgusted expression as if she had swallowed something foul. She quickly opened her contacts, changed the contact name back, and immediately blocked both of them.
She completed the actions in one smooth motion without the slightest hesitation.
Aside from those two, there was also an unfamiliar number mixed in. When she saw it, a strange yet familiar feeling surged in her mind.
It was contradictory, as if part of her hoped for this person to call her, yet also did not want them to.
Ji Xixing checked again. That number had only called her once during this time period.
In her past call logs, it had only appeared three times in total.
It must not be someone important, she decided, and stopped thinking about it.
Tonight’s missed calls totaled over a hundred, all from Ji Lifeng and Cheng Rongjin.
Ji Xixing clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Those two were really persistent.
Blocking them had been the right choice.
After not sleeping well for two nights, Ji Xixing decided to get some proper rest.
Tomorrow, she will ask her best friend Jian Yao for some money and rent a place of her own.
Even though the place Gu Wangxuan provided was good, she could not stay there forever.
It would not look appropriate.
She also did not want to compromise with Ji Lifeng. Once she compromised, there would inevitably be a second time.
To escape the Ji family, she had to learn independence.
Because she was mentally exhausted, she fell asleep within minutes of putting down her phone.
She did not know how long she slept before her phone rang again in a dazed state. Ji Xixing instinctively hung up.
After a moment, she reluctantly lifted her messy head from the blanket.
She turned on the bedside lamp. The dim light felt almost insignificant in the dark room.
Glancing at her phone, she saw it was past three in the morning, and there was one missed call on the screen.
Ji Xixing sighed irritably. It really never ended. She had already blocked those annoying people, yet they still kept calling.
Were they bored or something?
Just as she was about to turn her phone off again, another incoming call appeared.
She was about to reject it when she, with her excellent memory, recognized it as the unfamiliar number from among the hundred-plus missed calls.
After hesitating for two seconds, Ji Xixing answered.
A slightly emotional elderly voice came through. “Xingxing? Xingxing, is that you?”
There was a hint of surprise in her tone, as if she had not expected the call to be picked up.
Ji Xixing fell silent for a moment. “Who are you?”
The other side clearly froze. Her voice turned slightly choked. “I am your grandmother.”
“Don’t hang up, can you give Grandma a little time? Let me talk to you for a bit,” the old woman pleaded. “Grandma really misses you.”
Ji Xixing’s body stiffened slightly. She lowered her eyes. “I won’t hang up, Grandma.”
For some reason, Ji Xixing clearly felt that her memory of this part of her life was missing.
In her mind, her mother had been dead for many years, and her father had remarried and started a new family, showing no love for her.
This grandmother was someone unfamiliar, someone who did not exist in her memories at all.
She could not understand what kind of emotion would make an elderly woman lower herself so much just to beg her not to hang up.
“How have you been all these years?” the old woman asked carefully. “After your mother passed away and your father took you away, you stopped talking to Grandma.”
“Grandma knows you were in a difficult position. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you answered this call, not even your father.”
“If you are facing any difficulties, you must tell me. Although Grandma is abroad, as long as you say the word, I can come back to help you.”
She spoke quickly, afraid the call would be cut off at any moment.
A wave of bitterness surged in Ji Xixing’s heart. She said softly, “Grandma, I am doing well.”
“I can’t really remember what you said happened. Can you tell me why my father wouldn’t let me take your calls?”
The old woman paused at that question. “Xingxing, you have forgotten?”
Before Ji Xixing could respond, she sighed. “It is better that you forget. Forgetting means you can live happily.”
Far away overseas, separated by thousands of kilometers, she suddenly did not know whether she should feel relieved or heartbroken.
She quickly wiped her tears and forced a smile. “It is nothing serious. Your father was afraid I would speak badly of him. After all, he did something like that, and I do not like him.”
It was a lie. Ji Xixing could tell.
But she did not expose it.
“I see.”
“Yes, Xingxing, are you busy right now? Did I disturb you? I calculated the time carefully before calling, I was afraid I would interrupt your rest.”
The conversation shifted back to concern and care.
Ji Xixing could not find the words to respond.
So that was why both calls had come at night.
The grandmother had miscalculated the time, thinking it was daytime where Ji Xixing was.
She steadied herself and replied, “Grandma, I am not busy. If you call me, I will always have time to answer.”